Ignition
by Aiko-akita
Summary: OC Avery Anderson is taken from her home by Klarion the Witch Boy and finds herself conflicted between joining The Team or staying with The Light.
1. Rag Doll

Bruce Wayne watched with interest what the news had to offer in his hotel suite at Chico, California. Displayed on the television screen were quick clips of a young girl masked as a brunette doll beating the shit out of two gang members who had attempted to rob a gas station. The television was the only light flickering in the room.

"She's got game," Dinah's voice made Bruce leap from his couch and whisk around to face her. "Any super powers?"

Bruce straightened out, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh. "Doesn't look like it- just pure talent. Strange that we've never heard of her before, it seems like she's been here for a while. She goes by the alias Rag Doll."

"She certainly doesn't move like one, so quick and precise…" Dinah commented, placing a hand on her hip. "So she's the one we're keeping an eye on?"

"Yes."

"Should be easy enough," Dinah yawned, "as long as we can keep up with her. What's the information we have?"

"Not enough," Bruce answered. "In the morning we'll be heading out for resources. She's good enough at staying hidden."

"They'll be after her in the morning," Klarion's impeccably annoying voice grumbled as he reached up to scratch the head Teekl. He, too, was in Chico, appreciating the young girl whose movements were executed with unmatched deftness. Static came over the speaker of his hotel room phone, or was Queen Bee just hissing?

"Then we have to be first," growled the woman. "You'll get her attention tonight, before she's recruited for the brats."

"Me?" Klarion whined, at first annoyed. He considered it- toying with a brand new brat. What better way to spend time? "Alright," he giggled. "What did you have in mind?"

"Play a victim," Queen Bee's voice purred. "You know the rest of us can't make it out there, unfortunately, not that a teenager should be hard for you to round up."

"You got it," Klarion laughed before standing, turning off his communications system and heading for the door. IT sounded like such fun, toying with someone so shiny and new. It reminded him of how he had played the puppet master of the Justice League

"Mrrow," Teekl purred loudly.

"Hm?" Klarion looked down. "Oh, right- I should put on pants."

Playing the victim to lure a potential super side-kick was a more difficult situation than Klarion originally thought. He had narrowed his ideas to one out of an original three; yell for help, beat someone up, or get beat up. The first was a see-through plan- the hero would easily see that he was screaming for help with no threats and see the trap. The second, beating someone up, while fun would surely result in a brawl between Rag Doll and himself, ending with force to get her back to his team, The Light. So that left getting beat up, or at least luring someone after him. _This would be so much easier if Queen Bee could just mesmerize some guys into cornering me, _Klarion growled to himself. But Teekl's meow was correct, the entire Light team was too focused on Vandal's new plan, or at least picking up the pieces of his old one. Picking up a little brat to turn into a possible programmed mole or even a squad member (if she proved evil enough) was just a side mission for the Witch Boy to figure out.

Klarion peered around a grotesque and grimy corner and stared down the empty street ahead. With his dark tabby familiar around his shoulders, the Witch Boy stepped out into the ugly, pale light of a streetlamp, illuminating his slender figure and unique hair-do with V-shaped bangs and devil horns gelled out of his messy, black hair. Or maybe it just fell like that. As he walked down, his formal shoes clicked, dark suit almost blending with the black night air. A short quest turned into a midnight stroll within the desolate streets until a rough, troubling voice echoed from across the street.

"A little fancy don't you think?" Klarion turned his head to face the voice and grinned as a man of intimidating stature stepped into the yellow light of the other side of the street. A clear mutt thug, of course the brute would be interested in Klarion's suit.

"What, this old thing?" The man seemed to cringe a little at Klarion's heinously annoying voice. Klarion placed his black nailed hands on his slender waist with a grin. "You should see what else I buy." With his slender fingers he plucked from his inner jacket pocket a fat leather wallet. It caught the thug's attention, as it was meant to.

"Hand it over and I won't kill you," the man growled, beginning to approach with a greedy stare. iAll too easy,/i Klarion smirked to himself.

"Have to catch me first!" he called in a childish and daunting manner, taking off. He was able to keep his speed as he turned corners wildly, thrust into a dark maze of alleyways and listening for the following footsteps that came pounding soon after. Perfect. Tight turns led to a welcome dead end, where Klarion cornered himself and whipped around. No escape, for anyone, really. Here they would wait, Klarion pulling Mr. Thug's strings until what's-her-face arrived, if he needed to. The irritated mutt came around the corner, and Klarion watched as he slowed and savored his approach. Klarion himself savored it before letting a loud, bloodcurdling shriek escape his lungs. It seemed to startle the man, make him momentarily weary even, but it was only an ephemeral moment before he charged at the Witch boy. "Looks like we'll have to start without her," Klarion mumbled all too soon. The strange girl had jumped down so fast that Klarion found himself wondering where she had even come from. Thin air? Possible. She almost seemed to be a shadow, a girl dressed in tight black with a doll mask and flowing brunette hair. Her body was lean andstrong, muscles rippling through the tight costume, but nothing was as admirable as her skill. Klarion watched with interest as her kicks hit so high that they broke the mutt's jaw, and her punches landed so hard that they cracked his nose sideways. Blood welled over he hands and black shoes, splattering onto pavement and walls. She twirled and jumped up, dodged and kicked out with a defiant and cunning quickness, almost in a playful manner by the end of it- the smile of her doll mask certainly led Klarion to believe this. The sound produced from her shin colliding with the man as she kicked out- and she did strike him with her shins, not her feet, mostly- was so loud that Klarion guessed she was well trained in kick boxing, at least. Within moments the man fled, nothing of his left behind but scarlet blood.

"Well done," Klarion purred, putting a hand on his hip. She turned and faced him, appearing to have little intention of disappearing into thin air. He scanned her mask, carefully made and painted into a creepy grin. Her eyes were covered by black fabric so that he could not see into it but knew she could see out of it.

"You look familiar," She answered. Her voice was demanding and cold. "Who are you?"

"Take your mask off and I'll tell you," Klarion answered. She took a step back.

"Your voice is horrible," she hissed. "Are you sick?"

Klarion frowned, "No! Who are you anyways?"

"Rag Doll," she answered, cocking one hip out and placing a delicate hand on it. "Don't you watch the news?" She was trying Klarion's thin temper and patience.

"Just take off your mask," he answered, keeping the itching, commanding tone from his voice.

"No."

"Come on, I won't tell." He caught it before it happened, the way she drew her arms into her body and clenched the muscles of her legs let him know she was about to spring back up onto the rooftops and disappear. Well this just wouldn't do, so Klarion acted first, outstretching his hands and letting a painful burst of red magic fly and hit her hard. A wail of excruciating pain rang out as she seized up before collapsing onto her knees before him. She fell onto her palms, turning her visage towards him in time to see his foot fly into her face, sending her mask flying off and herself sprawling backwards. It was shocking- but nothing she wasn't used to.

"Meow!" Klarion looked over at the fallen mask and noted what Teekl had caught as well- her hair was a wig sewn into the doll disguise. He looked back over at her, intrigued as she sat up. Her hair was not brown, but red as blood. It was not flowing and wavy but choppy and short in the back and long in the front, so long in comparison that it's jagged form covered part of her left cheek and eye. It was an interesting hairdo and slightly attractive in its rebellious cut, but not as interesting as her eyes. They were a fiery gold, snake like pupils widening in the darkness and catching light that made them reflective and almost haunting.

"So you do have superpowers," Klarion grinned as he examined her eyes. She wiped blood from her chin before flinging herself off of the concrete and flying at him with a furious yell. He zapped her once more, sending her sprawling on the cement. "Whoops," Klarion slipped out apathetically. "Alright lady, we can do this the easy way or the painful way. The latter is more fun."


	2. Trapped

((Sorry this update is so short guys- wanted to end on a good cliffhanger!)

Klarion had shocked her twice and both times had sent her crashing into the grimy pavement. He grinned now at her bloody face, but in no way had expected her to shoot up as she did, bouncing back from the magic with little hesitation. Without giving him the chance this time, her foot shot up and connected not with his face but his groin. The pain was enough to make Klarion collapse immediately and heave. He was on the ground long enough for her to jump wall to wall in the alleyway, bouncing between buildings until she reached the rooftops and disappeared into the night. When finally he was able to move, he kept it to a minimum. She was too far for him to take his revenge now, or else he would give her the most painful death he could imagine. But as he opened his eyes and lifted his head, there it was; her intricate mask, still lying where it had fallen after he had kicked it from her face. It was then that he smiled because he knew she would pay.

Rag Doll, or Avery Anderson as her family called her, ran from rooftop to rooftop, thoroughly confused. This annoying teen had brought her to the ground, not just once but twice. He was some kind of super villain she guessed, but never had she encountered a set enemy. And the way he had lured her- brilliant. The feel of wind on her face was itching at her to go pick up her mask, but she didn't dare return. She was sure he wanted to kill her now, if that wasn't his priority in the first place. N one had been so powerful matched against her- and his getup, it wasn't normal, that was for sure. She came to the conclusion that she had been assaulted by a genuine villain, and decided that she needed to turn back. Her mask had her scent, her entire identity. Not that he didn't know her face by now. She halted, skidding a little bit, before realizing she'd carried herself far from both the site and her home. _Have to get home; forget the mask,_ she thought to herself, taking off with surprising speed and agility.

"Meow!" Teekl protested as Klarion continued to search through the dark of Avery's room in the tiny apartment complex. Teekl had been able to us scent to direct the pair straight to her house- she'd left such a clean path of scent to follow. In his raid he had discovered her name, her school, her age, her height, her weight, and her blue colored contacts that disguised her freakish eyes. He looked up at Teekl and at the room, which he had been careful not to make a mess of in his searching.

"Yeah, you're probably right- she'll be back any minute," he headed to the window beside her bed, lifting it quickly and ducking out. After shutting it, the two disappeared again into the night.

Avery found her home the same as always; her mother had fallen asleep sitting up and waiting for her, like she did all the time, and her room was as messy as ever. Paranoia still caused her to search everywhere, every space for the one person who had the power to beat her if he was quick with his magic. Superpowers, though she possessed them, were not easy for Avery to use, which put a dent it their effectiveness. Always, she had preferred true physical combat, never having encountered someone else 'super,' but she had heard of a few. After a thorough run-through of her apartment, Avery sighed and headed to the bathroom, dampening a rag and beginning to clean the dried blood from her sore jaw and painful, cracked lip. Settling into her tiny twin bed, it was difficult to fall asleep. She stared at her room, thinking of how much trouble she'd put herself in in such a short time as a superhero. Eventually, exhaustion wore her thin, and she fell victim to a deep and dreamless sleep.

Sunday morning brunch filled the air as Avery's alarm clock read 2 pm. She guessed her mom had let her sleep instead of go to church, and was probably still at one of their later services after waiting for Avery to wake up. She was groggy and slow and to put in her contacts and drag herself out into the narrow hallway, rocking her pajamas. As she headed left, her constricted view of the living room and kitchen expanded but she still could not see him until she had completely stepped outside.

"Your mom is an excellent cook." _That voice... _Avery whipped around to see the strange devil-horned teenage boy staring at her with the most clever and cold of grins. In a suit with the strange, long cuffs on the end of his sleeves and a devil eyed cat on his lap.

"Get out," she growled, narrowing her eyes in defiance and shoving her fear down her throat. His grinning playfulness disappeared then as he stood, setting his feline aside.

"Funny how you thought you could win," he growled threateningly, "but you see, I _always _get what I want!"


	3. Abducted

"And what do you want, boy?" she hissed, playing on the word boy to taunt him as a child.

"Avery Anderson!" he barked with irritation, pulling his shoulders up a little as if to appear intimidating or perhaps uncomfortable. "I was sent here to get you nice and fair- then you had to go and mess it all up!" His use of her real name derailed her momentarily- how did he find that out? What else did he know about her besides her address and name? Then she realized, what else did he really _need _to know?

"How long have you been here?" she asked, her tone changing to genuine confusion tinted with concern for herself.

"Five minutes," he growled, straightening out. "I was about to lose my patience."

"Who are you?" He knew her, it seemed, but he was still just a creepy, frightening stranger.

"Klarion," he answered, still glowering at her with annoyance. "I'm part of The Light, and it's what I'm here for." Each word he spoke in his horrid, squeaky voice made her want to claw her ears out. "If you value your Mommy, I suggest you consider doing what I tell you." The threat in his voice had receded to one of snarky confidence- he knew that he could easily manipulate her in this way, dangling her most valued life in front of her. Avery looked down at her feet. Her mother had raised her; for as long as she could remember it was the two of them, only; her mother, gentle and kind, threatened by some brat. _You wanted to be a superhero,_ she reminded herself, _and this is what would come of it eventually. Enemies. _He truly had her cornered, and the return of his maliciously victorious grin showed that he knew. "Come on _Supergirl_," he said in a pouty, teasing manner meant to hurt her. "It'll be fun." He held out a hand to her, nails long and painted black. She looked at him with narrowed eyes and yelled out before lunging for him. She could see his surprise, and he was not able to catch her powerful body. She grabbed his arms and swung him to the side into the half wall that connected her living room and kitchen. He crashed the dry wall easily, and as she came at him again, he looked at her and yelled gibberish that she could not make out, but it sent her flying into the wall opposite of him. She, too, crashed through it, falling onto the couch before rolling onto the ground. By the time she pulled herself up again, he yelled something else that made her scream in pain. She lost control of her muscles and went crashing to the ground again, much like when they had first met. She saw his shoes in front of her face, but still he muscles were tensing and causing her excruciating pain. When finally he released her with reluctance, she groaned and found herself unable to stand again. She tried twice and both times her knees gave out under her and she hit the ground again. What had he done to her? His power was something she could not comprehend, but then again, she did not even understand her own. Finally, a third time, and she was able to stand, surprised when Klarion grabbed her arm roughly and helped her up. When she looked at him, however, there was no compassion in his eyes, only impatience. "So what will it be _Avery_?" he hissed. Avery shook her head. She would not cry here, in front of him as she left everything she loved. She knew she would panic and hurt her mother but whatever Klarion was doing to her- she couldn't let him near her mother.

"I'll go," she growled. "I'll go with you but you can't touch my mother."

"Perfect," Klarion grinned, shoving her arm away from his grip. "Come on, then."

Dick Grayson had been waiting outside the apartment door for a good five minutes, at least, and now the chill of the gloomy Sunday morning was piercing his short, black hair to his scalp and wafting through his shirt. He checked the address Bruce had given him for a seventh time and again found himself in the correct place. The League had already left- now the team was here, just for the moment, to speak to Avery Anderson and see if she would join. Her absence was wearing their time, as they could not stay around all day to wait for her.

"Do you need something?" Dick turned to see an older woman smiling at him, her red hair in a nice braid that went well with her baby blue dress. She had grey eyes that were wise and compassionate and he smiled at them.

"I'm looking for a Miss Avery Anderson," he answered, returning her smile. He could see the worry that flashed through her eyes, the worry of a mother whose child had the dangerous job of protecting a city.

"I'm her mother, Clara," the women held out her hand and Dick shook it. "Come on in." She unlocked the apartment door, letting the both of them inside. "She's probably still sleeping," Clara explained in a hushed voice. As Dick politely removed his shoes, Clara let out a horrified scream that made him look up immediately. The room- it was in shambles! Or, at least, the giant hole in the wall was a problem. The two hurried around the kitchen to the living room to find another hole in the half-wall separating the kitchen and living room. "Avery!" Clara screamed. She pressed a hand to her heart, horrified at the scene and only able to yell her daughter's name and support herself on the half wall when Dick turned and hurried down the hallway, checking the two bedrooms and bathrooms; even the hall closet.

"You're daughter isn't here," he told the wailing, crying woman firmly. "I'm Robin, part of the team of Justice League sidekicks. I was here to talk to your daughter about her abilities." He doubted the woman was even registering what he was saying, hysteric as she was. He placed a gentle hand on her back. "Miss Anderson, I will find your daughter." That's when he saw it- the white hair on the couch. IT was long enough to be a boy's or perhaps a short haired girls, but certainly not red-headed Avery's or Clara's. HE hurried over and plucked it from the couch.

_Dick what's going on? Is she there?_

Robin gritted his teeth as he heard Miss Martian's telepathy to him. The situation was far worse than he anticipated- someone was victim now, again. _No Meagan; it looks like she was abducted. The apartment is a mess and she's nowhere to be found! I found a hair though, one that doesn't belong to her or her mother._

_ Bring it down, _Meagan's voice echoed in his head. _And bring her mother- she's not safe. _

"Come with me, Miss Anderson," Robin helped the struggling woman to her feet.

"I knew this would happen," she sobbed. "She put herself in too much danger…"

"We'll find her. I promise."

"So you just walked in and it was a mess?" Wally asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, there were these two gaping holes in the walls! Dry wall was everywhere, and then there was that hair on the couch."

"When do you think they'll be done analyzing it?"

"Now," Dick, Meagan and Wally looked up at Zatanna who stood in casual clothing before them, looking both anxious and concerned. "Batman's contacted us." The entire Team group hurried to the interactive screen where Batman's face looked down upon them.

"We analyzed that hair you found Robin," Batman said gruffly. "It belongs to a cat."

"No!" Zatanna groaned, smacking herself in the face.

"That's right," Batman answered, "we have our suspects; Klarion the Witch Boy and his feline familiar, Teekl. The Light must've found out about her before us."

"Why does _he_ want her? She's not even part of the team!" Wally growled.

"We don't know, but _you're_ going to find out," Batman answered. "You've beaten The Light before. It's up to you to find your peer and get her away from them. God knows what they're doing to her, or _will _do." Ending on a tone of slight reluctance to think of it, the screen turned off, leaving The Team on their own to figure out what was going on.


	4. Closer

((Thanks for all the recent support guys!))

Avery sat on the couch of Klarion's hotel room, trying to wipe away the oncoming tears. He had not hurt her since he retrieved her, probably orders from some kind of superior since she was sure he wanted to rip her apart from kicking him in the nuts earlier. He hadn't even tied her up or gagged her. She couldn't really bring herself to hate him- hate was only a cover for fear or pain, and all she felt now was pain, though she was sure the bitterness would come soon. She wondered about the language he'd spoken, the spells, she guessed they were, and his magic. He was powerful with it, and she wondered why. Was he not human? She knew some things of magic, but mostly she knew about superpowers, what makes them, and about how dimensions and superheroes can work. You need an anchor to stay in a dimension that was not your own- she knew- something that tied you there. If your anchor or familiar was destroyed you would go back to your own dimension. A theory, at least, in a sci-fi book she'd read, but it seemed plausible.

"Meow."

"Huh?" She heard Klarion answer his cat's call, finding it peculiar. _The cat- he can understand it…_

"Meow!"

"No, I haven't told them yet! I'll tell them when I feel like it," he growled in a hushed voice. _He's speaking to it about me, about something secret and intelligent. Could it be that he's not from… here? _She looked up from where she sat to watch Klarion walk from his room, slamming the door behind him.

"Your cat- it talks to you?" she asked, putting away her despair in front of the cruel boy lest she subject herself to taunting and torture. "And you can understand it?"

"Yeah," he shrugged as though it was normal. That's when it truly clicked for her. _Of course! A heartless boy capable of nothing but coldness and cruelty yet he has attachments to, of all things, a cat. A cat that can talk to him. _It didn't add up, unless-

"Is it your familiar to this dimension?" She treaded the question carefully.

"I-Ugh?" Klarion seemed stunned by the question, puzzled by how she guessed it so easily.

"I know a little bit about that kind of stuff," she answered with a simple wave of her hand. He looked at her, puzzled for a minute.

"Smart kid," he growled, staring at her for a moment more before brushing it off suddenly before turning from him and folding her arms. _Yeah, I am smart. Kill the cat, lose the brat. _As Klarion headed into the hotel room kitchen, Teekl approached Avery casually. The two stared at each other before Teekl hopped into her lap, surprising Avery, but she did like cats. Tentatively, she reached forward and ran her fingers through his fur repeatedly. After a few moments, Klarion approached and leaned over the coach to observe. It was so strange- Teekl was only attached to Klarion, as Teekl was the only thing that Klarion loved. So why was he in the lap of the hostage? "Stupid cat," Klarion growled half-heartedly, but still the Witch boy did not move. His scowling face slowly faded into one of puzzlement and he moved slowly to sit beside Avery and watch. Teekl then stretched between the two of them comfortably. Klarion reached down and pet him carefully.

"A nice familiar," she said gently, looking up at him. Klarion was taken aback by the statement, mostly because he had completely let himself fall into a state of vulnerability and emotion with the distraction of Teekl admiring Avery, which was so unlike the both of them. His face was gentle when it was relaxed, but in a second he glared again, mouth going sideways as he grabbed Teekl and put the cat around his shoulders before standing and leaving. She watched and wondered what situation had made him such a horrible person. Or was he just born that way? _RIIING!_ Avery tried not to jump at the abrupt noise of the telephone beside the couch. Klarion rushed over to it, hitting speaker quickly.

"Hello?"

"Klarion," A women's harsh, exotic voice came in over the speaker and she knew it from national news reports when two countries almost joined. She was Queen Bee, ruler of Bialya and a famous criminal. "What's the news? Did you find her?" It was then that something so unlike Klarion's character took place. He stared at Avery critically and wondered about The Light's plans for her and about her and Teekl's interaction. Emotions conflicted in his mind, most of them rude and angry, but some confused and a little soft. Did they really need her? Surely she was but a small asset. "Klarion?"

"No." There was a small pause before he turned away from Avery's surprise and repeated himself. "No, I didn't find her; even playing the victim."

"Whatever-" the woman hissed, "it doesn't matter anymore." An abrupt click and she was gone. Klarion continued to look at Avery in an analytical way that made her rather uncomfortable until finally she spoke up.

"Was that a boss of yours?"

"Another light member."

"You lied to her…"

"I know," he answered, waving it off again as he strolled away. "They want to program you, take away all the fun." Any hope that Avery had crashed. Take away all the fun? She imagined he had considered that his revenge would not be exacted on his terms- if at all- if indeed she did get into the hands of The Light.

"The fun," she considered, letting it fall from her lips quietly as she scrolled through the possibilities. What was to him? _Being a dick, obviously. Abducting teenage girls and throwing them into walls. Talking to cats… _The possibilities weren't looking too great.

"So what did her mom say she looked like again?" Artemis asked Robin curiously. They flew the air above Chico, trying hard to find Klarion without any leads. Her blue eyes scanned the area, one tan hand against the window as Miss Martian drove.

"Short, red hair," Robin answered, "Eyes the color of sap with slit pupils- you know, like a cat or a snake."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Aqualad answered simply. "Sound like a unique enough look to me."

"Yeah, but we don't have any leads," Zatanna pointed out with concern. Without any ideas on the girl's whereabouts, the mission did indeed feel a little hopeless to the majority of The Team.

"Well we're going to have to get _something_," Superboy sighed anxiously. "We don't even know where she could be. Batman was right- The Light could be doing anything to her."

"Let's not think about that," Robin answered solemnly as his eyes drifted downward. "Stay focused."

Avery had fallen asleep on her side, lying comfortably on the longer hotel room couch. Beneath one of her arms was Teekl, comfortably snuggled against her chest. Klarion sat on the couch perpendicular to hers, his elbows on his knees and head in his hands as he thought and wondered about her. Why did Teekl like her so much? He didn't quite understand his familiar's attraction to the girl, nor could her really understand… Well, his own. He didn't like her, but she wasn't as bad as he thought she would be. She was pretty, calm and his cat loved her. And her fierce way of protecting herself and stepping boundaries intrigued him. He remembered that her eyes looked like cat eyes and wondered if there was a relation there. That would certainly explain why Teekl was so fond of her. He looked at her if only to glance briefly, but instead stared. He had lied to Queen Bee- what was he going to do with her, anyways, now that he had her? He guessed he could fight around with her, but something within him thought it wouldn't be as entertaining now. Revenge had seemed so certain a while ago, and still loomed in the background, but again the fun of even its idea seemed to just… drain. He certainly couldn't return to the light with her. His reputation was already marred with The Light from his screw up about monitoring who had been in Vandal Savage's control through alien brianwashing technology on the last mission. It was then that the hotel room phone rang, cutting through his thoughts abruptly. Klarion was quick to pick it up this time and turn from Avery.

"Hello?" he mumbled in a hushed voice. A very formal greeting was given by the hotel clerk who cordially reminded him that checkout was in an hour. After hanging up, Klarion walked to Avery and debated whether or not to shake her awake. Finally he decided on simply snapping a loud "Get up!" She was quick to throw the blanket off and sit up. She hadn't meant to fall asleep with someone like him around her- she had only hoped to close her eyes.

"What time is it?"

"Ten," he hissed, but when she looked at the window and the light filtering through the blinds she realized it was 10 AM which meant she'd slept through Sunday night. She realized as well that he might not have slept, sacrificing it to watch her and make sure she didn't leave. But surely he had some spell to cut off all exits? Probably. Yet she felt the same- less sore but untouched, and she had awoken in the same position as when she had fallen asleep, hadn't she? Deciding to trust the Witch Boy, she rubbed her eyes.

"What are we doing?"

"Leaving," he hissed. There was a pause before he said something that surprised Avery, "If you need to get something from your house we'll stop by." It was a selfless gesture, one that put them in danger but he had offered anyways.

"I have a few things I need." He turned to her then, his face still cold but not as sharp or angry as usual.

"Then get up- let's go."


	5. Decisions

Klarion leaned against Avery's doorframe, on edge and impatient as she dug through her clothes and pulled out her uniform from the mess of clothes all over her floor. On the way over he had pressed her for information on her super powers but she had anxiously refused and as she became increasingly stressed and uncomfortable he had finally let up, leading to an awkwardly silent cab drive there. She had grabbed a few outfits, in fact, as well as her blue contacts- she'd donned sunglasses on the walk over to hide her unusual eyes and now simply popped in her contacts.

"All right, let's go," she said, shoving everything in a red duffle bag and zipping it up halfway before he obliged to move quickly and hurry out towards the front door. Avery understood how easy they were to spot, or at least how noticeable Klarion was in his strange outfit with his weird hair. She still wasn't quite able to grasp all the things he had done for her so far that jeopardized himself. Earlier he had seemed like a spoiled and impatient brat and still kind of did, but he was more human than before. She knew she probably owed it to Teekl; that Klarion would not have been so quick to ease into a less hostile relationship with her if his familiar had not been so quick to become close with the girl. He was still spoiled and she was still on edge but a sort of mutual truce had settled between the two of them with Teekl providing for that sort of bridge between them. Neither one would harm the other. They were quick to hurry through the streets. After a few blocks of practically power walking Avery's contact case dropped out of a small hole in her duffle bag and clicked against the sidewalk. She came to a skidding halt, Klarion stopping with her and turning. She could sense his impatience and anxiety as he quickly bent to pick them up for her. Teekl, however, had not even seemed to take notice and continued to hurry out into the street. As Avery glanced up she dropped her duffle bag at the sight. A car was speeding obliviously towards the cat- how could he not sense it? But then the familiar looked, and almost appeared like a deer caught in the headlights as he stared at it zooming towards him and did not move. There wasn't really time to think- _kill the cat, lose the brat,_ and Avery bolted into the street.

"Huh?" Klarion looked up and his eyes widened. He held up a hand, about to use magic to his advantage and praying he had the time to stop Avery from kicking the cat into the car when she snatched Teekl and tucked into herself, somersaulting just out of the car's way as it zoomed past. He was surprised for a moment… "Teekl!" Klarion yelled desperately, quick to hurry over and take the frazzled cat from Avery. He hugged it tightly to him. "Moron," he mumbled to the cat compassionately, looking relieved as ever as he stroked it. He then turned his attention onto Avery and held a hand of black painted nails out to her. She took it cautiously and he pulled her to her feet. His hands weren't as rough as she had expected and his grip more careful. "Thanks," he grumbled, but she could see in his eyes that he knew she knew what would've happened if Teekl had died, yet she had spared him anyways. He almost looked confused, and probably was- Avery was a little confused at her decision as well- but he was also grateful in his stare. It was not until they crossed again and grabbed her things that he asked why she had knowingly spared him. All she could really offer was a shrug.

"You kept me secret from The Light," she answered, avoiding his eyes. He had also taken her from her home… no, her life as a superhero had done that. She loved her mother but her life at home had been… less than bearable. "So I kept you safe in return."

"Then I owe you _a _lot of safety Avery," He answered and she turned to read his expression, only finding a cold and calculating vigilance as he once again picked up their pace.

Klarion had refused to take a Taxi and his magic, Klarion said, could not take the both of them from Chico to their destination. Of course this had been a lie because he had no idea where they were even supposed to go now that he told Queen Bee that 'Rag Doll' was not with him. It wasn't an option now to change his mind- every time he wanted to, Teekl wouldn't allow it. By now Avery could bear him. He still annoyed her and she couldn't shake the twinge or resentment she felt towards him for kicking her in the face, throwing her into a wall and threatening her mother but still she saw something human within him that was more prominently voiced in his familiar, who she had saved, after all. He asked her why she hadn't fought him yet to return home, and she had answered truthfully that it was not her wish to return with a bit of reluctance and unease. When he pressed further she shook her head. It had been painful there since her father's death, she explained wearily, in the simplest of excuses. The subject was dropped in a lingering air of growing trust; she had revealed a bit of her personal life and he had not taunted her for it, only silently understood. In return she asked why he had not hurt her yet for causing him so much trouble but he only gave her a somewhat bitter silence and made her shrink into herself in an uncomfortable and slightly irritated manner. Now they walked through a green and rather rural area. In the distance lurked Kid Flash. The Team had landed and had been scouting for a few minutes. He walked from around the barn only to spot the two walking quickly in the opposite direction. In surprise he ducked back into hiding behind the barn. Quickly Wally tuned into the shared telepathy between all Team members.

_I think I found them!_

_ Hold on,_ Robin answered. _Meagan, camouflage and scout above._ The two waited in silence as Kid Flash watched over head.

_I see them too,_ Miss Martian answered after a pause. _Are we going in?_

_ Hold on, wait for us,_ Robin said quickly. Slowly Kid Flash began to watch his squad take positions; Robin, Artemis, Miss Martian, himself, Superboy and Zatanna.

_I'm surprised that they're still in the area,_ Miss Martian sounded almost perplexed, _and alone…_

_Good news for us. Everyone ready? _A consensus of 'Yes!' was shared before Kid Flash was to make the first move. No one accounted for Teekl's sense of smell and their own downwind positioning as Kid Flash took off for Klarion. It was a simple meow and a few words and a red dome was created around Klarion and Avery.

"What the-" Avery hissed and took a step back, narrowing her eyes as it formed before her. As she turned to her left she saw him; Kid Flash was outside the dome and came skidding to a halt that almost sent him tumbling. She was almost relieved enough to collapse. She could return to her mother, and even better meet The Team! She knew, however, that this was going to be a sticky battle. She was the only one inside of the dome with Klarion; it had to be done. She took a step towards him while he watched the others come towards him with an arrogant smile when Teekl caught her attention. He cut in front of her and looked at her in confusion as if he couldn't understand why she would want to hurt him. Each time she tried to step towards him Teekl cut her off, and more surprisingly, without any warning to Klarion, even though Avery was sure Teekl knew what she was attempting. Of course, she could always hurt Teekl. But as she tried to draw the resentment from within herself to punt the cat, she only felt herself growing weaker. This boy she was with was a spoiled brat, but she also knew there was something about him that was miserable and frustrated and particularly human. He had had all the chances to kill or torture her, exact his revenge for hurting him, as she was sure he had wanted to at some point, but he never took those chances. And then Avery realized that in truth, he had pulled her unknowingly from a situation she tired of being in. Her father was dead. She had no friends. She loved her mother, truly, but Clara was off and on crazy and sporadically abusive. Her mother's older boyfriend was even worse and as the thoughts went on Avery hissed and covered her ears to block out the memories. It was then that she realized the show she had put on of her mother helping her throughout was all a dream in her head. The way that she had thought of her mother was false; a fabricated fantasy of what her mother was like on a good day and how Avery wished she had been her whole life. They loved each other at least to an extent but years of screaming and abuse surfaced from their hiding places in Avery's mind as she thought and dug up what she had painfully pushed down and purposefully forgotten. Becoming a superhero when she was young gave her an excuse to leave whenever she wanted. Klarion gave her a reason to leave forever. At the same time The Team could too, couldn't they?

"Meow!"

"Huh?" Avery looked up to see that the dome around them had fallen. Suddenly she was grabbed by a large, black haired boy with a superman shirt. He looked at her with calm control and piercing blue eyes.

"Come with me," he said gruffly and she nodded curtly, hurrying away with him.

"Don't touch her!" Klarion's annoying voice was distinct as suddenly Superboy went flying and crashing into the ground. Klarion was quickly at her side, standing in front of her, arms outstretched. Did he think that he was protecting her? In a sense Avery supposed that he was but it seemed to mean more to him than guarding an object of value- it was almost similar to the way one would get the back of a team mate. He knew she was capable, and she knew he was expecting her to help him. That was just too bad. Klarion shot at each team member that came near with his bursts of red magic until Avery noticed a girl out of the corner of her eye that was crouching behind them. She was dressed in green and carefully pointed a loaded bow towards Klarion. Teekl followed her gaze and meowed quickly.

"Huh?" Klarion turned a little too late. The arrow hit and covered him in some kind of hardening foam that held him in place. Avery turned at the words of someone else, a girl who looked to be dressed as an old school magician who spat quick gibberish and suddenly Klarion's mouth was gagged and tied.

"No mouth, no movement, no magic," the girl who had cast the spell said as she approached. Klarion then turned his gaze to Avery expectantly. Avery could only take a step back as Teekl meowed in repeated distress. Klarion's stare momentarily reflected confusion before he began to try and squirm and scream in a fit. She saw the feelings of betrayal and frustration in his gaze, the way he shut her down and went back to an impatient brat, and she turned away from him to Superboy and Kid Flash. He had given her a little more trust with each passing hour, listening to Teekl and allowing himself patience with her and she had stabbed him in the back. She was in for it now.

"You okay?" Superboy took a few steps towards her. "You're Avery Anderson right?"

"Yes," she closed her eyes and pressed her left palm to her left eye. "I'm her, and I'm fine, thanks." But the gratitude was empty as she felt she had simply been handed over from one situation to the next.

It had been a long night of reuniting with her mother and getting grilled by Bats and the team. Avery couldn't count how many times she had said 'it's not like that,' or 'that's not how he is,' but she was growing tired of the weird looks they would throw her when she attempted to, in any way, defend the Witch boy. It really only made her more frustrated and ready to leave especially when all she could think about was the fact that Klarion was somewhere within Mount Justice- no one had decided what to do with him exactly. If they took out his gag or freed him from the concrete foam around his body it would be a wave of his hand to escape, or so they thought- he could probably escape on his own. Was he waiting for something? Teekl had escaped somewhere along the way back to Mount Justice- he was a cat, after all, and cats are slippery animals. But the further away Teekl was, the weaker Klarion grew.

"Hey Avery?" Artemis' sweet voice came through the kitchen as she walked into the room of Mount Justice where they all lounged in their pajamas, taking a seat next to the red-head. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Ask away," she forced a smile.

"I noticed something back when we were fighting," Avery almost panicked at the look of sympathetic worry in Artemis' blue eyes, "Teekl meowed at you and you seemed to know what he was saying… Can you talk to him like Klarion?"

So now came the moment of truth for her to reveal her embarrassing and slightly annoying superpowers. She hadn't really thought about the fact that she had understood the kitty cat before, even though she had heard him talking to her. "Yes," she sighed, rubbing her eyes. "In stressful situations I can communicate with felines. See my eyes?" she removed her hands from them and looked at Artemis. "My DNA is… well, its part cat. In times of stress I can talk to cats, and when I'm really in trouble sometimes I can turn into this kind of… Cat monster I guess. But I never remember anything while I'm like that- I'm not good at controlling my superpowers..." She felt her face flush red. Turning into a cat humanoid was her superpower- one that she had no control of and honestly wished she could change.

"No need to be embarrassed," She looked up at a softly smiling Robin. "So you prefer to fight hand to hand like Batman and I?"

"Yes," she smiled. "Listen guys, I'm kind of tired… Is it all right if I crash here?"

"Sure," Robin smiled.

"I'll show you were you can stay," Artemis got up and led her away. Avery took her half zipped duffle bag that she had brought with and set it into the room before shutting off the lights and waving goodnight. Now it was simply a matter of sitting up and awake as long as it took. Minutes ticked past into hours as she counted who was saying their goodnights, waited until everyone was asleep or had left.

"Meow," the soft noise of a cat got her attention immediately. "Meow." It sounded almost like it was coming from inside the room. Avery hopped off of the bed and looked to her right, able to see easily in the dark that her duffle bag was _moving._

"Teekl!" Avery whispered, hurrying over to unzip it all of the way and let the red and black striped familiar out. He climbed out and looked at her in the way Klarion had looked at her expecting assistance. It was no longer a battle of who to chose- Avery had made her choice hours ago when she had saved Teekl and Klarion. A strong part of her felt reluctant about her betrayal towards the witch boy. Before he had come along she had taken out her pain and anger in beating up criminals, but the relief came in just fighting. Something about him appeared in her presence as if she had brought out the human parts of him, which she, again, really owed to Teekl. He was right in thinking she would have his back- he had treated her like an equal, not a hostage, and she had betrayed him anyways when he had her back against The Team. She had made him shut down and build up higher emotional walls than ever, she was sure. But she was going to make up for it. "Lead the way."


	6. Turbulence

Two pairs of cat's eyes glowed in the darkness along with the occasional flash of keys trapped within an black gloved iron grip. The halls of Mount Justice were pitch-black to the human eye- but to Avery, they were as bright as when all the lights were on. It was a more complex place than she had originally thought what with all of the hidden rooms here and there. Avery Anderson must have been quietly creeping for what felt like hours but was close only to five minutes. She was silent, that was sure, but the thought that perhaps the Justice League or The Team would find her out and about at this hour made her heart pound uncontrollably. It was not just _that_ that bothered her but the thought that perhaps they would find out later rather than sooner and look down upon her betrayal, just like Klarion had. It was a conflicting thought- the fact that she was concerned for what they thought of her made her frustrated. She had chosen Klarion- that was final, she was sure, but it was not necessarily The Team itself that caused these feelings but her own contradiction of her idea of moral. The feelings about betrayal to The Team needed to be erased.

"Mrow," Teekl growled gently. She looked down at him and could see that he was sure- the door that they had come to was the one. Carefully, she gripped the knob, feeling the cold of it suck the heat from her hand. It was locked, as expected, but sneaky Teekl had retrieved the keys for her earlier. She carefully went through each one of the three on the key ring, letting her breath slip away when finally she heard the click of a lock sliding back and the key turned so graciously. The door opened and Teekl rushed in. Sure enough, there the witch boy was, tied from neck to toe in the tightest of binding, mouth gagged and bound. She closed the door softly behind her, staring at the contours of his sharp face outlined in the moon as he stared at the floor. At the door's click he looked up at her and there it was again, the unforgiving rage as he narrowed his eyes. She went to him, carefully quiet, and worked to slowly pull the binding from his jaw. He allowed her to do such though she could tell he was rather uncomfortable as he tensed and growled at her touch. She pulled a gag cloth from his mouth quickly, admittedly a bit grossed out as she tossed it to the floor. His piercing eyes locked onto her and the first of his words since she had turned on him flew from his mouth with lightning speed.

"Yreva dnib!" Avery came crashing to the floor, struggling against the snake like ties that unraveled from Klarion and went to her. She caught his hellish anger in the moonlight as he stood, and though she squirmed as the wrap went around her quickly, it held her like a coiled snake. She was determined, however, to keep her silence. Teekl was different- his panicked and persistent meowing and climbing on Klarion's leg let her know how much the familiar disapproved. A flick of the Witch boy's hand and a piece of the binding tied itself around Avery' mouth. She struggled before the shock hit her, tensing all her muscles painfully at once. Screaming involuntarily was muffled by the gag in her mouth. She hated to bend to the pain but it was unlike any punch or kick- it twisted her insides and ripped her muscles, or so it felt. It came in several waves as Klarion stared at her with narrowed, angry eyes until something Teekl must've said to him made him stop suddenly and seem to soften, if only for a moment. Reluctantly he stretched out a hand and then pulled it back, seeming to pull the binding with him as it unraveled from Avery and fell in a heap to the floor. As she pulled herself to a sitting position and stared at him wearily he was reminded of the time he had kicked her mask from her face, except blood was not streaming from her mouth. "Why are you here?" he hissed.

"Obviously I came to get-"

"Yeah, yeah," he waved it off suddenly, which only irritated her further, and stretched out a hand to her. Avery considered before swatting it aside and standing herself up. Yet the pain in her legs made her knees give out almost immediately, causing him to lunge forward and catch her, but she pushed him away again and used one hand to push her body from the ground and lock her knees into place uncomfortably. She regretted refusing his help when she looked up and saw that his eyes had only become colder. "You have some things you need to explain." She could tell that he was not in the mood for her traditional smartass comments and she was probably only one away from Klarion tying her up once again and leaving her there, so she bit her tongue. "In the fight, Teekl said that the dome had collapsed and you understood him. How?"

_Not this question again. _"I can talk to cats- sometimes," Avery sighed. He seemed to accept this immediately, connecting it to her love for Teekl and her cat like eyes. There was a stretch of time where they stared at each other, analyzing the others motive and emotional state. It was tiring and tense when Avery noticed his face slowly become less angry and reside to irritation.

"You're on The Team," he growled conclusively.

"No-," she spit out quickly, "stop making assumptions just because you're a whiny brat.(He seemed a tiny bit taken aback and offended by the comment, but he, too, bit his tongue.) What was I supposed to do? Take on an entire squad of super-kids by myself?"

"You could've broken me free from the foam, or shut the magic girl up before her spell was-"

"I'm fast Klarion but I'm no Flash," she answered firmly. He looked away from her, obviously not really having an answer past what he had offered but unable to let his pride slip and admit that she was right- there was nothing she could've done. "I did what I had to do- I made sure they didn't send you off and I came back to release you." Teekl meowed at him and she saw him soften, looking at the cat with a twinge of regret. He looked at his familiar, considering whatever words the cat had spoken, before turning back to Avery.

"It's time I left," he growled. Avery blinked, keeping her eyelids shut for a little while longer than normal as she took it in that he had pushed her out. When she practically dragged her eyelids open again he was still standing before her, head tilted to the side. What did she care anyway? She was resilient, and would do fine without the Witch boy, she knew, so she averted his stare. "You're staying here?"

"I have to- if I leave before morning and they'll know something's wrong." He nodded in understanding before looking to his familiar.

"Meow."

"Right," Klarion said, looking back to Avery with a slightly irritated but more business-like expression. "You're a team mate. I'll send someone after you, or come pick you up, soon." Avery glanced back at him without moving her head to minimize her look of surprise, though she was a little surprised that the spoiled brat boy was willing to look upon her as an equal once more. Again the two were caught in looking at each other, at analyzing the others reaction and feelings. It was kind of an awkward stare. Both could tell that the other desired some kind of physical goodbye, a hug, a handshake, anything that would make the 'goodbye' more of a 'later', but the slightly uncomfortable feeling from the idea prevented either one from moving first towards the other and creating a potential disaster. "Back up," Witch boy growled and she did so, figuring he was going to flee from the room with some kind of magic trick that required ample space. At the step back however, her right knee gave and she stumbled almost to collapse again, her legs tired from seizing so violently moments ago. She was relieved when Klarion jumped forward and caught her, and this time she did not refuse, only grabbed onto him carefully and grit her teeth as she tried to ignore the pain surging throughout her legs. _Weak,_ she thought with irritation. _You're so weak sometimes. Why can't you just suck it up?_ Again she had collapsed involuntarily before him, presenting herself as weak even though she was one of the strongest people she knew. It wasn't her fault still, what more could she do? In a split second she went from thinking herself weak to accepting that she could not be at her upmost strength at all times and took his silent offer of help to get her back up. However, the Witch boy did not necessarily stand the cat like girl up, but pulled her awkwardly into him as he stood, as though he had shared few hugs in his life time, if any. Knowing that he was not going to hold her for long, she was quick to return it, brushing away hesitation. Still, she had to wonder about what he was doing- he hated people, truly, it seemed, and minutes ago he had wanted to rip her throat out. But Avery knew that emotion came with every human, and though he was a tough and guarded brat, he had to have some sort of feeling. He loved Teekl, didn't he? And if the hug meant nothing to him, why would he have pulled her in for one, knowing the awkwardness of it? She had never really considered Klarion's height but now his chin rested in her hair as he stayed where he was, beginning to gently scratch her back with his fingers as though she were a cat, used to only ever touching Teekl. Admittedly, it was aggravating and a breath of fresh air at the same time for Klarion. Feelings for others had only ever gotten him into the position he was in now- an angry, spoiled prick. He hated having a bond with anyone, and a strong part of him he hated his feelings towards Avery as even the smallest of 'friends', but at the same time, despair diminished in the gesture of becoming close with someone again. Perhaps not even close, but to engage in physical contact in such a friendly manner with another 'human'- it was refreshing, at least. He knew that he could not take back this gesture- that Avery knew it was strange for him to do such a thing. Even though their time spent together had been limited, the occasional personal conversations in cabs and the gestures of one going out of their way for the other, even Teekl's close bond with Avery, had formed a small but mutual trust between the pair. She had told him her home life was awful, something painful that she never shared- he didn't have to tell her anything. Everything was said in his emotional mood swings, stubbornness to feel for others, and yet his way of having her back twice when the time came. Avery only gripped the fabric of his suit jacket, still dusty from Artemis' strange foam, and stared blankly to the side as her cheek rested on his coat. Teekl was staring at the both of them, looking almost pleased or perhaps amused- probably both. "Sorry," Klarion growled almost reluctantly, sounding irked even before he cleared his throat. It was clear to her that he was apologizing for causing her pain earlier. They unlocked then and he stepped back, staring at her only for a moment more in a way that showed his indecisive feelings for her before waving his hand as a dark red portal appeared and slowly swept him and Teekl away from her.

"Are you sure you're all right returning to your home later this evening?" Batman asked cautiously. "You don't want to return with your mother this morning to pack before relocation?"

"No," Avery smiled. "Thank you, but I don't want any threats to her."

"We can send Team members to escort you."

"Thanks but no," Avery said, waving her hand. "I don't want attention- I'll be perfectly fine, really. But I appreciate the offer.

"If you're sure, we'll send you off at two, if that's all right with you."

"Yes," Avery nodded. "Thanks again."

"Our offer still stands," Batman answered. "You're welcome to join the team whenever you feel ready."

"Thank you, you've been very generous."

"Stay safe, Avery," he answered before turning from her and exiting Mount Justice. It only took a few minutes to re-stuff her duffle bag and duct tape the hole at the bottom. She popped her contacts in, stored their case in her bag, and headed out of her quarters.

"Hey Avery," the red head turned to see Artemis smiling at her and holding out a small plate of cookies. "We just wanted to give you something before you head off." Avery felt the knot it her stomach get tighter. Her she was, walking away and turning her backs on The Team who had done nothing but help her. Yet she smiled anyways and took the plate out of courtesy.

"Thank you," she smiled. "I really appreciate it.

"No problem," Artemis stepped forward and hugged her in a gentle and friendly manner. "Good luck!" Her voice was so well meaning and genuine that Avery could only nod before turning and quickly hurrying out, feeling a bit uncomfortable and embarrassed.

Avery had been traveling completely on foot, finding the burning of her sore muscles to be pleasurable coupled with the idea that the pain was nothing more than the elimination of weakness. She had ditched the cookies and plate in a dumpster a few miles back and now she traveled on foot through a rather grassy area. Batman had set her up with a nice plane to the bay area, where she was to get a Taxi to her house, but she had ditched the taxi. In fact, Avery wasn't even all that sure where she was going- away from home, she guessed, but the sun was setting as she walked through a rather deserted valley. With a stupid disregard for the oncoming night, Avery carried on, running through her memories of her mother and father in painful reminiscence. Everyone had to revisit the painful memories sometimes, or they would never really get over them, though she was sure she would never completely get rid of hers either.

"Well well, brat boy was right, you do look kinda like a kitty cat," the dark and sultry voice of a woman caused Avery to spin around, immediately taking a defensive position. Before her stood a rebellious looking young woman with thick and nappy black hair that sort of stuck out, appearing to possess a texture similar to straw. Her skin was tan and her eyes a dark, dark brown- perhaps even black.

"Who are you?" Avery growled, unsure if this was who Klarion had sent to pick her up or someone who had caught wind of her and just wanted a scrap.

"You can call me Cheshire."


	7. Dishonesty

((Sorry for the delay. Also you guys are going to have to bear with me on a lot of scene jumps here haha. It deletes barriers I put between paragraphs where point of view switches.))

Avery held her defensive stance, refusing to trust the rough looking young woman.

"Cheshire, huh?" She growled, dropping her duffel bag. "What do you want exactly?"

The girl folded her arms and frowned with irritation. "_You, _of course. You _are_ Avery Anderson, aren't you?"

Avery straightened out and blinked, figuring she was who she had been waiting for- a ride to The Light. "Yeah. Are you here for..."

"The Light," the woman answered coldly. "I have to admit, I'm surprised- Klarion doesn't seem like to someone to really care. He almost had an aneurism when I told him I'd come get you tomorrow- screamed right in my face about how important this was. Tell me, Avery, what's so special?" She reached behind her then and pulled two flashing, fine blades from their beds. "Or you could show me."

"So she just missed her taxi and that was the end of it?"

"Dinah said that she never reported to the pickup area as directed," Batman answered Robin as the two walked the halls of Mount Justice. "This one is a trouble maker- she's not who she says she is." Robin looked at Batman, considering this.

"She has a pretty rough situation," he answered softly, tenderly. "Perhaps she just needs to get away."

"The Witch Boy is out there," Batman's tone was firm. "And she left with that knowledge, still. She has to be hiding something."

"And we'll find out."

"Eventually, but it's not priority."

Klarion paced back and forth within the headquarters of The Light. Cheshire was taking forever- or at least that's certainly what it felt like. Shattered glass and pottery lay everywhere around him, a result of his raging torrents of confused and conflicted emotions. He could no longer deny the fact that he preferred Avery to most company, but still he hopelessly debated himself about whether or not he truly felt for Avery Anderson, or whether he had romantic emotion towards her- this thought was the one that made him shatter glass. He hated romance, he hated emotions- _hated_ them. (He mentally kicked himself for even letting the word romance slip into his storm of thought.) Never had they resulted in for him than pain and anger. A scream of rage flew from his as he picked up a small table whose vase he had already shattered and threw it across the loft. It hit a wall and clattered to the floor, chips of its treated wood falling hopelessly onto the floor. Klarion ran his fingers over his hair angrily, growling and yelling to himself. Teekl was around his shoulder, bristled and weary about Klarion's extreme mood. A click of a door signaled Lex Luthor entering the room. At the moment of his entrance he gazed upon the mess with irritation and surprise before looking up, the surprise disappearing at the sight of the Witch boy. Of course, who else would throw such a tantrum?

"_Get out!_" Klarion screamed as his presence, magic flaring from hands that took the tense shape of arcade cranes or curled claws. Lex stared at him a moment and raised an eyebrow before exiting once more, figuring it best not to cause trouble and let the boy release his rage. Of course Lex hadn't heard of little Avery's retrieval and therefore had no real idea what the boy was having a fit over now. He could only guess the kid had had his ass kicked. Klarion watched the closed door for a few moments more before finally becoming exhausted with himself. He sat on a couch, leaning his elbows onto his knees and placing his head in his hands. Teekl wrapped his tail comfortingly around Klarion's neck and the boy reached up and scratched his head, a little absentmindedly. She would be here soon- or so he hoped. Time to put the room back together.

Blood dripped from both girls as the two stood apart, panting and worn.

"You're good," Cheshire wiped sticky red liquid from her chin before laughing a little- a raspy, tired laugh. "Much better than I thought you were going to be."

"You're not too bad either Cheshire," Avery answered, straightening out a little. Bruises were already forming on both of their faces, promising ugly black and purple welts. After Cheshire had drawn her swords, she had approached Avery with cunning speed. The two were fairly evenly matched, aside from Avery having no weaponry. It was in the moment adrenaline and quite exhilarating for the both of them, going round after round in pure combat.

"Call me Jade," she grinned a bloody and bruised grin before outstretching a hand that Avery shook with a small smirk of satisfaction. "You're something Avery, that's for sure." A more serious look took over Jade's tanned face now. "So you're actually cool with becoming Klarion's _other_ cat?" The statement perplexed Avery. "I mean, if you don't mind me saying," she brushed the sentence off with such cool casualty that Avery was sure Jade was the type to speak her mind without fear of insulting others- her opinions were correct to her, and her statements undoubtedly true, hurtful or not.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that once you go to The Light he'll never let you out," Jade answered. "Have you ever considered his personality? Possessive, spoiled, irritable… I'd imagine he's going to be one clingy son of a bitch when you arrive. Like I said- he almost had an a heart attack when I told him I'd get around to this when I had time. You'd think this was some kind of top priority mission. Now that I've met you I see that that's obviously not true- no offense, again." Avery blinked, thinking about these statements and how true they were, really. She hadn't really considered the majority of the possibilities, and couldn't really decide if she cared much or not. Teenage pride pushed her to believe that she had a handle on the situation, that she was sure she had some kind of leverage against Klarion. It was a dangerous assumption but not entirely false. She could always appeal to his emotional side, the side that only she really had any kind of grip on, and if not, she'd just have to box him, or try. After processing their relationship she was sure he would allow her something between a limited freedom and absolutely spoiling her, like he did his cat.

"I'll deal with it later," Avery answered, the chill of the disappearing sun making her skin look like goose flesh.

"You're going to have to," Cheshire answered simply, turning and waving her hand for Avery to follow. Avery blinked and watched her move away before picking her duffel bag up once more and slinging it over her shoulder.

Artemis bit her lip, suppressing the extremity of her disappointment as she fiddled with a hair of Teekl's she and Dick had found in Avery's guest room. The two were the only members of the Team who still sat on small round chairs in front of the huge communications screen. They had officially crossed her off of a list of potential allies and added the release of Klarion to her criminal record after checking Mount Justice's basement security footage.

"I just don't get it," Artemis sighed, looking up at Dick. He shared her glum mood and shook his head.

"It _is_ strange- why would someone who fought crime leave her home and leave signs of force? The walls were _destroyed_."

"I know it sounds kindof cruel-" Artemis bit her lip once more, "but I really hope she's just been programmed. I mean, not like that, but-"

"But you would rather believe that she's being manipulated than believe that she betrayed us," Dick finished for her. "It's always possible." The two looked back up at the replaying footage, knowing that it was highly improbable- not with the way Klarion had shut her down. He would have to have been the one to program her and the spoiled brat would never hug a programmed girl. Avery Anderson was genuine in her release of an enemy, despite her robotic mood before departing from Mount Justice. Artemis and Dick would have to grasp the girl they had so looked forward to recruiting had stabbed them in the back for one of the most notorious villain organizations.

Avery had fallen asleep somewhere along the helicopter ride, her head resting against the fabricated side. Before she knew it, however, Jade slapped her on the shoulder roughly and she jumped awake as the Cheshire girl hopped from the open helicopter door. She was on top of some giant building- a huge corporal business, she assumed. She hopped out quickly, following Jade curiously. As if reading her mind, Jade mentioned "We're on top of Lex Corp."

"Lex Luthor?" Avery asked stupidly. Of course it was Lex Luthor, what other Lex owned Lex Corp? Jade only snorted and smirked at the question, making Avery's face burn as she narrowed her eyes. The two headed for the roof door that would lead them into the building when it suddenly flew open for them, a familiar feline friend first to rush out. "Teekl!" Avery purred, about to crouch when she heard footsteps slapping the pavement. It was Klarion of course, who she looked up curiously at, unsure if she should smile or remain neutral as he rushed for her. However, Avery ended up looking reproachful as she realized the raging fury of his visage and took a step back.


	8. Compassion

Klarion skidded to a halt in front of her.

"Hey!" Avery's bark was more surprised and weary than defensive as Klarion clipped her chin in one hand. He leaned close to her and her eyes flicked with his as he searched her face with cold calculation before she began to glance around, nervous and unsure about what he was doing exactly. He lifted his other hand and touched her cheek gently. "Ah!" she hissed, attempting to jerk her face from his grip, which only tightened and cupped her chin completely.

"Sh," he answered gently. The tender pain of his touch reminded her that Jade had slugged her in that same spot and it began to click for her, the image of her ragged, bruised face surfacing into her mind. Klarion was looking at the bruises. At the thought, Avery was taken back to the time he sent Superboy flying across a prairie for placing a hand on her shoulder. _He's going to flip out!_ "Let go of me," Avery growled, her voice wavering a little in fear that he would know it was Jade and lose control of his temper. She liked Jade- bitchiness aside.

"Calm down, brat," the sultry female voice called. This made him whip around, releasing Avery and straightening out. Jade and Avery exchanged a glance, and the rough and tumble girl knew she was walking on eggshells with this one. But she needn't conceal it any longer; fire grew from Klarion's hands and he yelled, shooting it down at his feet so that it wrapped around him, proving he already connected the bruises both of them wore with each other.

"_How could you hit a team mate?"_ He yelled angrily.

"Woah!" Cheshire dodged the first attack, and the next, somersaulting away from the paths of flying darts of magic and fire.

"H-hey!" Avery yelled, reaching out to touch him but drawing back in fear of getting hit by the magic that rose all around his form.

"Meow!" Teekl insisted. "Meow!"

"Shut up!" Klarion growled with extreme irritation, facing his familiar with the usual snarl, though his fury died down with the crimson magic around him.

"It's fine- I agreed we'd have a brawl," Avery answered, pushing past him as he grumbled to himself. She was annoyed with his constant attitude- so spoiled and bratty. Was it so hard for him to be anything else, to be like the person he was when they had hugged the night before? She shook her head, shook the thought- it was just a stupid hug. Avery turned to Jade and she could tell that Jade was a bit bitter towards her, not that it was really Avery's fault. She would let go of it in just a few minutes for the grudge spawned only from momentary irritation at the attack. The real anger Jade felt would be embedded towards Klarion, not that their relationship had seemed too goodie-goodie before. Klarion watched, a bit stung by her nonchalant reaction, but only shook his head- what did he expect, for her to be thrilled? No, that wasn't her way. He and Jade grudgingly headed after Avery, Jade soon taking the lead in getting off of the roof while Avery and Klarion hung behind.

"How do you feel?" He mumbled, eyes sliding sideways to her as a slight sincerity crept into his tone. His knuckles brushed hers and she looked at the stairs and her feet, biting the inside of her cheek. He tilted his head, waiting patiently for a response. On the inside, Avery felt consumed with sadness and frustration. The decisions she had made to leave everything behind now stirred strong emotion within her. Everything from the past was gone- her father's death and her mother's crazy abuse were far behind her, they couldn't catch up to her now, but she still felt so angry and alone. With each slash of emotion the pain ebbed. Pain was so familiar, such a constant. And she did well keeping it locked up behind a porcelain face. A doll, like her superhero name- empty eyes and a fake smile because her whole life pushing the pain down had been easier than breaking in front of people. Who was there to even break down in front of anyway? Pretending to be strong through chaos and pain- being the perfect porcelain princess... But she couldn't hold it in forever. The bottle had to burst.

"I don't feel anything."

Klarion sat on the end of his bed, head resting in one hand while the other scratched the head of his cat. How long had it been since he felt genuinely confused? Confused in the innocent sense- the sense that keeps you concerned for someone you care about. Well, this morning, as a matter of fact- but what about before then, before her? He couldn't remember, really. It was unrecognizable at first- foreign and frustrating. But now he sat and pondered with it, flipped it about like a coin. Aver y had gone to her room. She had made it clear to him that she did not want to talk, and he'd let her have her space, even though it was driving him nearly insane. Was she upset with him? What did he do?

The shower was still running even though Avery wasn't in it any more. She knew she probably shouldn't be wasting water, but hey, Lex had all the money in the world to pay the bills, right? The shower head was enough to drown out her sobbing. Even muffled by the towel that she bit into, it was still too loud. Maybe the others couldn't hear, but she could, and she hated the sound. The low, pitiful ringing of it. She much preferred the hiss of hot water hitting the bottom of the tub. She hated this feeling, the pain and sadness of everything. She had been wrong- it had all caught up to her too fast. All she could really think of was how much she hated her life and how, deep down, she really didn't like herself. She'd betrayed those who tried to help her and left the woman who raised her- the batshit crazy woman who had smashed bottles over her head and branches over her ass. And her father was dead, so now she was really completely alone. Now it had to be porcelain all the time because she had flown right into the wolf's den and no one here would harbor sympathy for her emotions. And frankly, the knowledge only made her feel so isolated and vulnerable. Everyone would look at her and think of what a weak little kid she was, and then she'd have nowhere. It was better to cry all of it out now and never think of it again, after that. Do her best to forget about it all, if it were so easy.

After a while, the redhead stood and sniffled, the towel falling from her body. She walked to the shower and turned it off, momentarily considering going another round of crying before deciding it was time to just bottle it up again, and looking at her distorted, unhappy reflection in the metal of the faucet head. In the mirror she appeared devoid; her fiery eyes dull and dark like the skin surrounding them, Her hair was parted down the middle and looked like an A-line. It had half-dried in, wavy and resting around her face at two separate lengths on each side. She didn't really feel like brushing it out- didn't really feel like doing anything. Avery flicked the lights off and walked out, looking at the room and once more considering collapsing into a miserable heap before stepping to her suitcase and pulling out a nice nightgown. She slipped into it and turned off her lights, laying on the bed and staring at the ceiling.

Klarion waited outside her door, listening until he was sure that she had finished her shower and become decent. He turned and used two knuckles to tap on her door. "Can I come in?" There was a heavy pause of silence before a faint 'yeah' drifted through the door. Klarion opened her door and walked inside, closing it softly behind him. The room was dark, and Avery lay on the bed with her hands tied behind her head. Her hair was getting longer, taking sort of a sharp A-line look, he noticed. For a moment he stood there. She didn't look at him or move at all, really. Teekl hopped off of his shoulders and pawed to get out of the room- Klarion looked down at him. His familiar was right- this was about to be between Klarion and Avery. He opened the door and the cat scampered down the hallway to the witch boy's room. Klarion looked back up at her as he closed it again. He moved to her then and sat beside her on her bed. His eyes focused on her the whole time, as neither one said anything, but he watched as the strain of ignoring him began to weigh on Avery. Her mouth twitched, and she knew he saw it, which only made her crack more. Somehow it seemed that he looked through her, that he was just waiting for her to talk to him. Had that been what he'd come for? To talk to her? That was unusual. It was sentimental, it gave her someone to run to. At least she wished it did, but she wasn't sure- her caution kept her from revealing her turmoil to him, but each second made it harder for her not to run her mouth and cry more. Her entire bottom lip trembled and she sat up quickly, covering her face with her hands.

"What is it?" she asked, the strength fleeing her voice and leaving it an ashy whisper. She wanted him there, but part of her wanted him gone immediately. She couldn't keep up her visage and breaking in front of him was dangerous. Did Klarion even understand emotion? He was a villain- they were supposed to be heartless, not sympathetic to stupid teenage girls. But he moved closer to her.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I thought you'd take this better." He saw the muscles in her back tighten and tense. His words really only made it worse- it was like saying 'sorry, I was under the impression that you weren't an emotional kid.' Her hair rustled as she shook her head and moved one of her hands past her cheek, forehead drawing down towards her eyes in frustration. Klarion raised his eyebrows. "You're crying-"

"No," she hissed, her breathe coming into her lungs in broken and sharp gasps as she grit her teeth. The moment of strength in her voice collapsed as she whispered, "I'm better than this." She wiped more tears away from her face as Klarion flipped more emotions around. The strange softness that broke into him was confusing as ever, and would have been frustrating, were he not too distracted by Avery's state. She was crumbling right in front of him and he contemplated what to do- what does one do? He was so used to scowling and leaving, letting that person believe he didn't care- because he didn't, not usually, but this was what caring felt like… wasn't it? It was so different to him, so foreign. Tentatively, a thin hand reached out and touched her back. The muscle beneath his palm relaxed and she began to shake a little.

"I broke everything today," Klarion whispered. She looked at him, tears still falling down her face as she sniffed.

"What?" She sniffled, wiping more tears onto her wrist as she glared in confusion. He leaned a little closer to her.

"I was waiting for you and I smashed everything- I threw every vase, every table, every dish, because-" he stopped and thought about what was about to come out of his mouth. How we he say it? Should he say it? It would break everything there was to him, the emotionless and angry image of him. It would give him another weakness besides Teekl. But as the tears ran down Avery's face he realized it wouldn't matter. Nothing would change except that he would have said it out loud. "Because I-…" For a moment he reconsidered before shaking his head, frustrated as usual. "I care about you, and I've never cared about anyone. I don't like having… having feelings for other people, I can't stand it. Everything has always been about me, I should have been thinking about me, but I wasn't- I was thinking about you. It was frustrating and confusing, so I broke everything." Avery wiped another tear from her face. There was the same sensitivity in his voice, more prominent now than it had been in the stairwell. He looked at her, suddenly terrified that she would pull away, but she did no such thing… Instead, she flew straight into his arms.


	9. Fear

((I'm back guys. I've figured out a more solid plot so this story is still a go, for those of you still reading! Thank you so much for sticking out the wait! 3))

There wasn't really anything else that had been said between them. Avery cried a lot, and though Klarion couldn't quite bring himself to understand her emotions for her mother or friends, he did his best to beher comforter until she finally went to sleep. Now he stood on the roof of the Lex Luther Corporation building, staring out into the city lights the polluted the sky and dimmed the stars. It was all so very confusing, indeed. What would everyone else think of this? No, that was wrong, that wasn't what he cared about. They could feel however they wanted, it wasn't going to change him, it never did. What was it then, what was bothering him?

"Meow."

"Huh?" Klarion turned and looked at Teekl. "No, that can't be it." Hesitation broke his cold visage. "… Could it?" He rubbed the back of his neck and turned to face the city again. "That's strange, I never knew it felt like this…"

…

Wally knew he shouldn't have been snooping around there. It was such a seedy pub, and Artemis had warned him not go (her concern made him blush). Still, he had to know if the rumors were true. Upon swinging open the heavy pub door the smell of alcohol, puke and scum hit him all at once. The shouting was the worst of it, the rough and tumble words slamming into his ears as if no one could make there presence well enough known. As he covered his nose with his red jacket sleeve and took a step forward he saw what would lead him to the truth- a man fly across the room and into a table close by. Heinous cheering ensued. Wally winced- a broken table, a passed out man, it was already bad. Maybe he'd better turn back… no, no. He was Kid flash after all, these two he'd heard of couldn't be the worst of his problems, right? The young Team member followed his path of flight to the culprit. Shock overtook him- it was all true! It had to be, the girls blood red locks and the boys cat eyes- Avery had two half sibling, though they appeared far beyond her age. The girl wore a khaki trench coat and a pirate hat, an odd costume, but he she had been the one to fling a grown man across a bar like she was flicking an ant, so Wally figured she was entitled to wearing whatever she felt like. Her hair was thick and wavy and the color of fresh spilt blood, its tendrils pouring down to her the edge of her shoulder blades. Gold hoops, an eye patch, and boots completed her yo-ho outfit. The boy leaning against her table, black hair almost covering his apathetic yellow cat eyes, was certainly the half brother. His clothes were relatively normal at least, dark jeans and a black sweatshirt, but no shoes. Something seemed off about his eyes- they were so bleak, so utterly detached. Perhaps Artemis was right- this was more than he could chew. He knew she wanted Avery to reconsider choosing the Light over the Team, but these half siblings of hers weren't the people to do the job. He noticed that while he had been wrapped up in his thought the yellow, dead cat eyes of the half-brother had slunk to meet his own and Wally West turned heel and fled the saloon. Those eyes, those hollow and cruel eyes were so much worse than Avery's… they couldn't really be related, could they?

…

Light touched the horizon to find Avery in Klarion's place- on the roof of Lex corp. She wore jeans and a simple black tank, her crimson hair curly and unkempt in her face as she stared below. From the roof, everything seemed so small and so insignificant.

"Enjoying the view?" A powerful and confident voice so charmingly waved around her. She turned to find the intimidating Lex Luthor approaching her with his usual mischievous smile. He turned his green eyes to sky and squinted. "When I purchased the building I did so love the look from the roof."

"It's nice," Avery agreed cordially.

"Well kiddo," Lex looked down at her. "You've got quite the trial ahead of you."

…

_Pow! Pop! Jab!_

Wally West stepped back from the punching bag and rubbed the sweat from his eyes with the back of his hand before continuing his boxing drills. After his disturbing encounter the previous night, he found himself troubled. Perspiration dripped from his face as he continued his workout but it just wasn't enough. He was filled with fear, the kind of fear you feel after waking from a terrifying nightmare. That clutching fear that's buried itself deep into your core and shakes you from the inside out. _Boom! Kapow!_ Anything to get his mind off of it. Still, there was that annoying piano in the background. Who thought it was a good idea to put a music studio above a gym? Oh well… whatever.

_Jab! Punch!_

More horrible piano playing, like a five year old slamming keys.

_Kapow! Boom!_

So many minors, so much ear splitting dissonance.

_**Kick! Kaboom!**_

Hideous discord.

_**BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!**_

Wally growled and covered his ears as the punching bag swung around violently. This had to come to an end, whatever cruel joke someone was playing had to come to a stop. He turned on his heel and marched out, slamming the doors to the stairway open. _Stomp, stomp, stomp_. Every muscle in the boy's body was rigid with intense rage. The madness became louder as he made it to the second floor. The disharmonious notes brought fire to his belly, pain to his mind. Finally, he was just within its reach- opened up the doors into the cordial music room. He had found it, yes, a piano, and a man playing it just two or so yards in front of him. The man's face was down and buried in the instrument as he pushed keys, that was all, simply pushing keys as his black hair hung down, the only thing visible. The walls of the studio were mirrors that reflected Wally and the sad, sad man pushing keys for infinity. The sad man who did not look up at Wally's presence- this only fed the flames. He was irate.

"Hey!" Wally growled. The notes were already bad, but they seemed to falter more so at Wally's voice. A moment of silence. Then it continued. Wally grit his teeth. "Hey, I'm trying to work out downstairs. Your music is very distracting and this piano is for lessons only." Wally tried to control his tone, taking a step forward. It wasn't often he lost his temper.

"Lessons only." The music stopped. The voice was cold, almost emotionless except for a twinge of inquisitiveness. Wally was taken aback as the man raised his head. He had a young face, a pale complexion and full, pink lips. That voice was so bleak and so terribly despondent. "Am I playing it right, Nyka?" A silver ball stuck out from the skin below his lower lip. What was that piercing called again? A lower lip labret? The keys became soft and started up again as the music turned into _Mad World_ from Donnie Darko. "It's _Mad World_, Nyka. You love this one. I'd sing it and play it for you... In the past."

"I do love this one. Yes, that's very good, Donny," The sultry girl's voice drifted in from behind Wally as she stopped to stand in the doorway. He knew who it was. But he couldn't look away from the pianist. Those eyes just cut a hole right into his core, right into the center of his panic and fear. Such beautiful playing, the song so greatly executed; it was soft, so solemnly pretty. "You and Avery love my piano playing, don't you, Nyka." The music was so beautiful. And those dead yellow eyes…


End file.
